TOPGUN
by binayak95
Summary: A ONE-SHOT inspired by the crisis in the Middle East and Indian PM's visit and subsequent speech at the US Congress. A modern day AU involving our favorite characters and some very fast jets.


**AN: Hi guys…! Don't worry … this isn't a new series… its just a one-shot that I was inspired to write… A modern day AU set in the near future. All characters are completely fictional of course..or almost. This story is dedicated to my brothers-in-arms of 94INAC who don't appreciate fantasy. Do read the story and enjoy. As always, any and all reviews are appreciated. On an unrelated note.. I could be persuaded into continuing this into a series.**

 **Without further ado, here's the story.**

* * *

 **TOPGUN**

 _USS Dwight D. Eisenhower  
The Indian Ocean_

 _27_ _th_ _June, 2020. 1353 Hrs._

The loud incessant banging at her door brought her out of her sleep, making her crawl out of her bed to walk, barefooted, over the cold floor and open the door.

"LT!" the young sailor, whose name she couldn't remember, shouted- "you've been raised to Alert 1. You're launching in twenty minutes from CAT-4. Lt. Cdr Eragon is waiting for you in the briefing room."

"Shit!" she swore, glancing at her watch, realizing that she had barely slept for forty-five minutes. Swearing loudly, she rushed to change into her G-suit.

* * *

Beginning in 2013, a radical Islamist movement had swept through the Middle East- swiftly taking over the already weakened governments of Libya, Egypt, Syria and Iraq.

Western governments, already exhausted by the war in Afghanistan and the economic crisis of 2008- showed a general apathy and simply sealed off their borders- leaving the middle eastern nations to fend for themselves.

The oil-rich nations of Saudi Arabia and the UAE managed to hold off the ISIS for some time but soon, they too collapsed - kick-starting a fresh global financial crisis. Pakistan's fall a few months later was inevitable but disastrous nonetheless.

India launched an armoured blitzkrieg through Punjab in an effort to prevent the Pakistani nukes from falling into the Islamist hands. Eventually a combined joint op by Indian-Israeli-US special forces finally secured the warheads deep in the mountainous North Western Frontier Province.

India retained controlled much of the territory of the former Pakistan- the entirety of the Makran coast and the province of Baluchistan- using it as a buffer zone between the Islamic Caliphate and her own territories.

The Islamic Caliphate consolidated its own territory by 2015- and started behaving and functioning as a state would.. taxing its citizens, having ministers and spending revenue on various projects, the biggest of which being the expansion and modernisation of their otherwise obsolete military. In almost no time, they became a major power in Eurasia. Beginning in late 2015, a fresh wave of terrorist attacks hit the West, beginning with Paris. Nothing of course could directly connect the new caliphate with the attacks but it was an open secret that the terrorists were given financial and military support by the Caliphate.

Iran, being a Shia dominated nation, had stayed away from the Caliphate and indeed was at the forefront in fighting against its growing influence in the Muslim world. Indeed, Iran, Jordan and Turkey were the only nations in the Middle East which were Muslim dominated but not a part of the newly christened Holy Islamic Empire (HIE). These three countries were invaded simultaneously in January of 2019.

The US, India and the EU declared war on the HIE shortly after with Russia waging her own war against the Islamic separatists in Chechnya. That had been almost two years ago.

* * *

"Saphira!" Eragon shouted at his WSO, "Come on.. we are running late."

She fell into step beside him, "so, what is the mission?"

"We are sweeping the skies over Iraq for a priority strike mission deep inside Iraq, possibly Baghdad. IAF Jaguars and A-10s are taking off from Jaisalmer AFB as we speak. They will refuel from tankers over Tehran before pushing into Iraq. We will push into Iraq from the Gulf, draw out any enemy fighters."

"I assume the IAF will be joining us?" Saphira asked.

"No," Eragon shook his head dismissively, "they are conducting a diversionary strike on an arms factory in Aleppo, Syria. That attack will actually begin in a couple of minutes and should draw most enemy bogeys. Their Arrow squadron is responsible for Top Cover for the strike team, however we will be flying ahead of them… The Indian Carriers, the Vikramaditya and the Vikrant have joined us this morning, so the Black Panther Squadron will join us."

Saphira's eyes had widened, the Black Panthers, Indian Naval Air Squadron 303 was amongst the most decorated of the Indian Navy's squadrons. They operated the Mig-29K an extensively upgraded version of the legendary Mig-29. Not to mention that they were phenomenal pilots- it would be good to have them watch their backs.

They were close to the stairwell that led to the outer access ramps to the flight deck. And Saphira could hear the howling of the wind and roar of the sea… she looked at Eragon with a sardonically raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah! We are at Sea State 6! Thanks to the monsoon!," he was grinning maddeningly.

Saphira's eyes widened even further, to the point that it seemed her eyebrows were disappearing underneath her golden locks. Sea state 6 meant 13 to 20 feet tall waves!

Indeed, as Eragon opened the hatch- she was deafened by the roar of a storm in full force. Heavy rains lashed at them, immediately chilling her to the bone, the sea was a fury of massive waves clashing and crashing against the steel hulls of the ships with deafening noise. Sharp, biting wind tore at her uniform, forcing her to hunch over as she climber the final steps to the flight deck. A thick intimidatingly grey cloud cover hung low in the sky, blotting out the sun and all warmth. The IKE was big enough and heavy enough to almost seem in calm waters- as were most carriers- but she could see the various destroyers and frigates around the carrier pitching and tossing on the waves. A Kolkata class destroyer to the port side suddenly launched a BrahMos cruise missile, the roar of its ramjet engine almost drowned out by the waves. Overhead, a mix of F-18s and Migs flew around on CAP duty. As she emerged onto the deck- she was buffeted by 30mph winds and yet her F-18F Super Hornet stood ready at CAT 4. Another stood right next to it at CAT 3.

"We are launching in this weather?!" she shouted at Eragon, incredulous.

"YES!" he shouted back, grinning, his brown eyes shining with excitement.

"What is the Strike team's target?" she asked as they clambered into the cockpit.

"I DON'T KNOW! WE WILL BE BRIEFED MID-FLIGHT!"

Saphira closed the canopy and the flurry of the angry ocean was suddenly suppressed. Sweet blessed silence!

"Dragon 2-6, you are second in line. Dragon 2-2 will launch first. How copy?" the ATC crackled over the radio.

"This is Dragon 2-6, Roger." Eragon replied dutifully.

"Alright sir, I'll need you to tap the brakes and check flaps and wing surfaces," the Technician's voice came.

Saphira turned to look at the left to check the flaps and wings as Eragon engaged them, the crew member flashing a thumbs up. Turning to the right she checked them out again.

"Alright control surfaces seem okay, checking HMDs." Eragon reported.

She engaged her own Helmet Mounted Display and sure enough, it came online, cycling though the various sub-systems, showing them all to be online and in working order.

"Checking weapons and countermeasures," she spoke into the radio.

The M61 Vulcan gun showed full ammo and spun up when she pressed the trigger and missile tracking systems were working correctly as well. Countermeasures (flares and chaff) were primed and ready as well. "All weapons and countermeasures working properly," she called in.

"Roger that, engine and radar working as expected. No red lights, all sub-systems working and in order, ready for take-off." Eragon said.

He flashed the crew a thumbs-up in turn and they immediately hooked up the jet to the steam catapult. Saphira and Eragon saluted the crew-master and buckled in for take off.

Dragon 2-2 took off first and just seconds later they took off as well- thundering down the deck as the steam catapult accelerated them to 250 knots instantly.

The plane engines roared as the F-18 clawed for altitude and speed in the dense humid air. Eragon immediately banked to the right, slowly gaining altitude and circling around.

"Dragon 2-6, this is Dragon 2-2, levelling up on your starboard side." The voice of Lt. Cdr Timothy Hawkins crackled over the radio and sure enough, his aircraft appeared at their side. They made a large circle of the assembled fleet, flying low at about 750 feet over the wavetops.

"Dragon flight, this is Lt. Cdr Gokul Ganesh, callsign Goku, lead flight of two Panther flights, coming up behind you. Ready to form up." Eragon chuckled, as did Saphira, someone had watched a lot of Dragon Ball Z as a child.

"Roger that. Panther flight has joined formation. Ready to receive mission instructions." Eragon called in to Mission Control.

"Flights Panther and Dragon, turn to heading 3-2-0. ELINT has pinpointed the current location of Al-Zwahiri. Intel places him in Al-ASad airbase as of 1235 hrs today. Strike package will seek to eliminate him and the top leadership of the Caliphate. Your mission is to sweep the airspace for any bogeys. How copy?"

"Roger, main." Goku called in.

"You guys hit the deck. We will fly high and a mile back- to give you guys the element of surprise. What do you say?" Panther 2-2 called in.

Saphira understood what the guy was suggesting- the manoeuvre was simple but would give them a decisive advantage. By flying low and fast, the F-18s would stay below enemy radar, while the Migs, given their height, will draw out enemy fighters. This would give them the element of surprise since the enemy wouldn't be expecting two more fighters. The fact that the Indians were volunteering to be the bait spoke much of their skills and bravery- and the Indians were more than justified in their confidence.

"Nothing to say- brilliant plan. 2-6, lets firewall the throttle and hit the deck!" Hawkins said.

Eragon responded by doing just that - the twin GE F416s roared as the plane accelerated. He turned the aircraft over and dived, hard, pulling 5Gs as he levelled 200 feet off the ocean. Saphira barely noticed Hawkins forming up beside them as they just crossed Mach 1.

The two aircraft zoomed ahead of the Migs flying a mile and a half ahead of them from where they maintained the gap.

"Land in sight!" Goku called out.

"Roger that- crossing over into occupied Iran. We'll hit the border in a couple of minutes."

 _Fifteen minutes later…_

"Tally ho! Two bogeys- moving in from the north- fast." Hawkins' WSO called out.

"Roger that", Saphira responded as she too picked them up on her radar.

"Understood, can you guys line up a BVRAAM shot?" Goku asked.

"Negative- radar tracking isn't working! Their RCS seems too small for anything that the Caliphate has."

Saphira was worried that the Caliphate had somehow developed or acquired fighters approaching fifth-gen level technology.

"The IAF has encountered these kind of bogies over the last two weeks. They have developed or acquired some kind of RAM paint to reduce the RCS of their aircraft. BVRAAMs don't work anymore- but IRST still tracks them well enough- SHIT ! RADAR LOCK! Break!"

Saphira forgot everything about fifth-gen bullshit as she concentrated on engaging the enemy fighters. The Migs had broken into a split-S dive and had dropped chaff to confuse the enemy radar. Moments later the enemy fighters roared past, six thousand feet over them. She got a brief glimpse at their profile…

"FUCK! We've got Sukhois!" she shouted into the com.

The Indians swore, "Where the hell did they get SUs from?"

Dragon flight banked into each other, turning till they were behind the bogeys. Saphira engaged her HMD and tried to get a lock on using the heat seeker of the AIM-9X Sidewinder. The Indian Migs were being chased by the Sukhois in a turning twisting fight—they were dodging the missiles of the bogeys with great flair- releasing flares just as the Bogeys would launch missiles.

"These guys are good but their missiles are Chinese copies of the R-73 Archer… A missile we are fairly intimate with… it is easy to beat if you know the trick," Goku was speaking, his voice calm.

"Alright… enough playing around…, Shrivastava, you know what to do! IN 3…2….1…NOW!"

The F-18s were still some distance away from the bogeys and still hugging the deck but that made the Mig's manoeuvre that much more amazing. Both aircraft shot up straight into the sky, popping their air brakes- the bogeys, far too close, could do nothing as they overshot and then the Migs dropped back down on their tails.

The classic Pugachev's Cobra! The brilliant manoeuvre was extremely demanding on both pilot and machine and very few aircraft could pull it off. The bogeys, showing their presence of mind, had immediately split, diving away- using the power of their twin Saturn engines to quickly put some distance between them and the Migs. Panther flight split up as well.. and Saphira saw two flashes and the Migs launched missiles which homed true to the bogeys, regardless of the flares.

"Splash two enemy fighters!" Goku crowed in victory as they turned back towards Baghdad.

"What missile did you fire—we couldn't get even a lock on?" Hawkins asked.

"Python-VI, a JV between India and Israel. Very very effective."

Saphira chuckled… she had come to realise one thing about the Indian warbirds… they were far more than they appeared on the surface; almost every single bird had been modified and upgraded to the extent that their performance were two to three times better than what was specified originally… And not to mention the pilots!

"Alright let's reform and head over to target… This day is far from over." All four aircraft formed in two Vs- a mile apart to keep each other's six o'clock postions clear. Climbing up from the deck they passed through the heavy cloud layer.. shuddering because of the turbulence. Above the cloud layer, the bright sunlight and clear skies almost blinded Saphira with its suddenness.

A couple of minutes into the flight, everything seemed normal and it seemed the mission would turn out to be as boring as most missions, regardless of the initial few minutes of excitement.

Then, it seemed that they had stirred up a hornet's nest.

Goku called in first, "this is strange.. IRST is picking up four heat signals… coming up fast and hard.. on the deck! 12 O'clock front!"

The F-18s didn't have IRSTs… to the ire of American pilots everywhere. She craned her neck to try and spot the approaching bogeys, but could see nothing under the heavy cloud deck that hung at 5000 feet.

"I don't know… AESA isn't picking up anything… Could be anything." Hawkins said.

"Do you believe your own words?" he asked back; Saphira nodded her head but didn't say anything.

"The bogeys just passed us… I don't like this one bit.. Dragon flight… keep an eye on my six and I'll do the same for you, yeah?"

Eragon wiggled the wings as a reply.

"What the hell?! I've got a radar lock!" Hawkins said suddenly.

Saphira instinctively looked at Hawkins six o'clock. They were flying above the cloud deck and there was nothing behind either of them or indeed, behind the Migs. Suddenly a Sukhoi 27K rolled up from below the clouds, levelling its wings before a flash appeared- a missile launch!

Hawkins was already breaking as she screamed "BOGEY!" into the radio- popping flares but it was too late… the missile tracked true to the F-18 and detonated on impact, completely disintegrating the plane.

Eragon immediately went on the offensive turning towards Panther flight just as they did towards them- a scissors manoeuvre to support each other and keep the other's six o'clock clear.

"Main, we were jumped by enemy bogeys- unknown numbers. We just lost Dragon 2-2. Repeat we just lost Dragon 2-2!" Eragon was shouting into the radio.

Saphira meanwhile was tracking the bogey on their tail- make that two. Eragon was doing everything to prevent them from getting a lock on- barrel rolls, split-s, everything feasible, but the Sukhois stayed put. These pilots were no jihadis, pumped up on cocaine… they were well trained and skilled and that worried her. They were possibly on the verge of a new phase in the air war.

"Keep tracking, love! Hold on! I'm dumping air speed!" Eragon called out. He pulled the plane into the vertical, popped the air brakes and banked towards the left, turning into the circle sharply. It was no Pugachev's cobra but it did the job nonetheless… the Sukhoi overshot the turn and Eragon was on his ass immediately. Saphira had been waiting for a chance to put the pepper on the enemy and she was determined to be not found wanting when the opportunity presented itself. She had her HMD ready and in a span of three seconds had achieved a lock on for her AIM-9X. She fired the missile and it flew straight and true, but the bogey, yet again, showcasing his brilliant training, skilfully deployed flares and turned inverted, pulling into a split s- diving through the thick clouds. Eragon stayed on him however and Saphira soon achieved a lock on- this time the missile struck home and the SU went down.

"Splash one!" Eragon crowed.

Pulling out of the Split S at 1500 feet, the two found themselves in the middle of a ferocious fur-ball of seven aircraft, with five being enemy SUs. Ahead, to the 11 o'clock, Eragon spotted Panther 2-1 chasing a SU, with another behind him. Eragon immediately banked to chase the tailing SU… Saphira locked up the Sukhoi's massive Saturn engines on her radar and fired another Sidewinder.. the missile seemed to go straight into the right exhaust of the SU and detonated- resulting in a massive fireball. Eragon raised the nose to clear from the cloud of debris and as they emerged, they saw an amazing sight.. Goku was literally going in for a gun-kill… He was far too close to even attempt a missile shot- the debris would damage him severely. He and the first SU were going straight up- with full afterburners.. and the MIG-29K, thanks to its lighter weight and exceptional thrust-to-weight ratio was catching up to the Sukhoi and fast. Goku opened up with 30 mm canon fire and shredded the enemy's portside wing… the bird went down in a comet of smoke and fire.

The two allies teamed up and scanned the skies for the other MIG and found him climbing up to rejoin the formation, having shot down a Sukhoi. The other bogeys high-tailed out of the combat zone and Saphira had the good luck to get one more with a long range AIM-120 missile.

* * *

They arrived over Al-Asad airbase at 1623 Hrs and immediately fell into an overwatch pattern… Circling the airbase minute and a half. The strike team hadn't arrived yet.

"Main, this is Panther flight. We've arrived over Mosul with Dragon 2-6. Awaiting instructions. Strike package is yet to arrive. Over." Goku called in.

"Roger. Strike team ETA 2 minutes," came the reply.

Saphira picked up four bogeys on her radar approaching fast from the South East.. 15000 feet high. She called out the bogeys. "Tally four bogeys coming in from the South East. No IFF tone back… Radar can't identify type and make."

"Turn into the bogeys and make a head on pass for VID." Eragon called out.

The three aircraft turned to the South East, heading directly for the unknown aircraft… they would be approaching the merge at a relative velocity of almost Mach 2.

A few seconds passed as both groups approached each other… then suddenly the dots in the distance loomed large, 30 mm cannon fire engulfed the Migs and the F-18 as the Su-27Ks thundered past, presenting a beautiful side-profile.

"Motherfuckers!" Eragon swore as they turned to chase the SUs, the Migs turning tighter and faster. The enemy flight had split, two going to the left and two to the right, using their greater weight to diver faster.

"I'm going right!" Eragon called out, and the MIgs crossed across their nose to chase the ones on their left.

"Dragon 2-6, be careful! You're outnumbered!" Goku called out,

Eragon didn't respond as he focused on manoeuvring tighter in the downward spiral that the SUs were leading him into. The trailing SU split away, going into an almost 90o zoom climb, the twin Saturn engines roaring in protest of the heavy, unyielding pull of gravity.

"Saphira, keep checking our six, I don't want a Su-27 on my ass!"

She shouted an affirmative, instinctively glancing over her shoulder- it was clear for the moment.

"Come on! Come on!" Eragon growled in frustration as the enemy pilot did his best to shake them off his tail- and his tactics were working, slowly and eventually… The F-18 was losing speed, pushing the very edges of sustained flight… if the enemy didn't break soon, they risked stalling out.. and certain death.

Thankfully, the Sukhoi pilot lost his will first.. pulling out of the airspeed-bleeding spiral first and levelling his wings… Saphira got a lock on almost immediately- and squeezed off another Sidewinder. The missile tracked truth and destroyed the aircraft.

"Dragon flight, this is main… Strike flight arriving on station. How copy?"

"Roger, main. Maintaining vigil over target."

Simultaneously, the skies around and below them erupted with flak shells exploding all around… Saphira could see tracer fire coming from radar guided AA guns.

"We've got AA guns… they are gonna cause a lot of problem for the A-10s on their attack run. Anybody got solutions?" Goku called in.

Roger! This is Shark flight! We are loaded for SEAD… clear the way" the IAF Jaguar pilots said.

The Jaguars dived towards the grounds- lining up the AA sites on their LITENING targeting pods and releasing LGBs. The bombs glided onto their targets and one by one the AA guns were silenced.

"Panther flight, this is Bulldog 4-2, coming in from the Southwest… Cobra flight will peel off and join you boys. Keep an eye out for targets down below." The A-10s had arrived.

"Roger, Dragon 2-6, switch to targeting pod and laze targets of interests below, Cobra flight and we will keep watch."

Eragon replied in the affirmative and Saphira switched her LCD display to the targeting pod. Two T-50s joined their formation.. the fifth gen stealth super-manoeuvrable aircraft was a JV between India and Russia in the early 2010s, with the IAF version- upgraded with Israeli avionics and sensors.

She could spot Sukhoi 27Ks taxing on the runway and called them in. "We've got SUs taxing on the runway…"

"This is Cobra 1-4, roger, we'll take care of them." A melodious female voice answered.

The large aircraft, showing grace and manoeuvrability that should have been beyond possible, dived away… launching missiles seconds later from its internal bays. The missiles tracked true and destroyed three taxing aircraft.

Goku meanwhile was swearing in colloquial Hindi quite generously, as was his wingman. "What's got you in such a excited state?" Eragon asked.

"That _woman_ was Arya, first pilot to qualify from the Allied Evolved Soldier program," Goku replied. The fact that she's here means Supreme Command is personally overseeing this mission."

Saphira had heard of the Evolved Soldier program.. a program designed to enhance the abilities of soldiers to unheard of heights both physically and mentally. Soldiers who graduated under the program were truly universal in their skills.. they could be Special Forces qualified, be fighter pilots, tank commanders, you name it.

"Done discussing about _us, Lt. Cdr_ Goku?" the voice returned as the T-50 rejoined the formation, quite deliberately stressing about the other's lower rank.

"I know that your flight was attacked and that we've lost Lt. Cdr Hawkins, his sacrifice will be honoured forever," she added and that was the end of that conversation.

"All aircraft, this is Shark 5-2, LITENING is picking up a group of seven vehicles headed for the main terminal. This could be Zawahiri," the Jaguars called in.

"We've to make sure that it is Zawahiri." One of the A-10 pilots said.

"Enemy helicopter coming in from the NE.. Flying low! It appears to be headed for the terminal."

"Roger, we'll laze the helicopter and the Vehicles once Zawahiri's ID has been confirmed." Eragon said.

A few seconds later, Arya called in, "Yes, it is Zawahiri, camera's have ID'd him."

"Main, this is Dragon 2-6, HVT confirmed, repeat HVT confirmed. Pressing Bulldog into the attack." Eragon called in.

"Roger, understood. Bulldog pressing in for attack run."

The two A-10s attacked at a very low height… their massive gatling guns and their depleted uranium shells shredding both the enemy helicopter and the vehicles… a massive explosion occurred as the helicopter spun out of control and hit the ground, crashing into one of the SUVs.

"Nobody is getting out of that fire alive.. our jobs done boys!" Goku shouted.

"Bulldog 4-2, what is your name, brother?" Saphira asked.

"Lt. Orik, why may I ask?" came the gruff reply.

"You might have just created history, Lt.!" Saphira replied.

"Main, this is Cobra 1-4, HVT confirmed dead. Repeat, HVT is confirmed dead. Egressing out of the combat zone. Strike aircraft and Cobra flight will head to Jaisalmer AFB while Dragon 2-6 and Panther flight will egress to point Bravo Charlie for refuelling, before returning to Task Force. How copy?" Arya said.

"Loud and clear, Cobra 1-4. A job well done. All aircraft are RTB."

Eragon and Saphira peeled off from the group, diving low to the deck, followed by the two MIGs. They firewalled the throttle, eager to get away from enemy skies before more enemy fighters show up.

* * *

 **So, what did you guys think? Is it worth continuing? Tell me by reviewing!**


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